Green with envy

I am really obsessed with green smoothies. We (Scott included!) have one about five times a week for breakfast. It is a perfect way to get practically all your fruits and veggies in for the day before it even starts. I feel like the days I don’t have a smoothie, I can tell a difference in my energy levels and my mood. They also ease that mommy guilt of wondering whether or not the kids are eating enough fruits and veggies (or in my case, knowing they aren’t…) AND seriously, how are you supposed to just EAT all those recommended servings every day??? The fun part is, you totally create your own as long as you have a good green base going on!

For ours, I start with 1/4-1/2 cup of plain yogurt, some coconut milk*(add plain water as needed) and then add the spinach. It depends on if you are using fresh or frozen spinach on the amount. I add at least 3 cups of fresh and about 2 handfuls if it is frozen and a small bunch of fresh parsley. Then I bring on the good stuff! I pretty much throw in whatever frozen berries I feel like that day. ALWAYS add pineapple and a banana it will sweeten it up so much you won’t even know it is good for you. (side note if you have, ahem, constipation issues, skip the banana). We use mango, strawberries, cherries, blueberries…. whatever we have! I have an ulcer issue and have found that if I add mango to mine it really aggravates it, that might be a personal problem, but just FYI.

Tips: Always blend the spinach by itself with the base liquids you are using and it will blend completely smooth. Fresh spinach blends better but is more expensive than frozen. (I just bought fresh organic spinach and it was $5.99 for 16 oz compared to frozen organic at $1.99 for 16 oz). If your family is freaked out by the color, add blueberries and it will turn an appetizing purple color. Also, call it a shake…kids like that. You might want to start off with less spinach and add more as the fam gets more used it, I just went all out and forced them to drink it (I’m an all or nothing kinda girl) and they are used to it now!

Try it… you’ll like it.

* Coconut Milk

1 can organic Coconut milk (not the lite)

2 1/4 cup water

Mix and store in fridge.

I also mix coconut milk with baby food, eat it on cereal, etc, etc….